Cutting Off the Past
by iftheworldwasonfire
Summary: Argent is having problems, and the Titans South want to help. So they bring her to Raven, and she uncovers something shocking: the truth about Hot Spot and Argent's pasts. Rated T for self-mutilation and light swearing. One-shot/story. For Tari.


**Well, I was a bit depressed last week, so I whipped out this dark fanfiction. It's for Tari, one of my favorite authors, who helped me realize that I was not the only one out there who loved Hot Spot and Argent as a couple! But Tari, I don't mean that you remind me of self mutilation or anything. So please don't take offense at the plot.**

**Warnings: Is T rated for a reason. Self-Mutilation. Everyone might be a little OOC; I apologize for that.**

**Pairings: Flinx, Hotgent, and BBRae and Robstar if you squint.**

**And just so you know, I do not have cutting issues. I repeat, I do not have cutting issues, so don't ask me if I wrote this because I do the same thing as Argent does. I don't, trust me.**

**Disclaimer: Yeah. I totally own Teen Titans. And pigs can fly. Don't own the various medicines in this, either.**

Argent's door was locked and her room was dim, creating a creepy atmosphere. Her ruby-colored eyes flickered in the peculiar lighting, making her seem like a dark sorceress. Her breaths came out shallow, quick and harried, her heart thumping faster than normal, adrenaline surging through her veins. A breath hitched in her throat when she lifted a wickedly curved knife, the ornate handle glinting eerily in the soft, pure moonlight streaming through her open window, over her wrist. As she thought about the situation, she almost laughed. Most people who cut themselves used razors, but she had chosen to use a knife. More elegant, she would always think. Argent brought down the knife on her wrist, slicing through the pallid skin with a quick, practiced motion. Her eyes narrowed and her ebony lips curved upward, though it was more of a grimace than a grin. She watched silently as a spurt of dark crimson, almost black blood (curse her alien heritage!(1.)) dripped down her silvery wrist, a drop of dark scarlet slowly trickling down her arm like a tear dripping down a cheek.

It was a drug to her. It eased her pain. And though it hurt and made her alert and stimulated, it led her into a world of sweet, fuzzy, hazy pain that dulled all of her emotions. It made her focus on the sting and forget everything else, made her forget the memories that plagued her.

Hot Spot stood nervously outside of Argent's room. She hadn't shown up for dinner, and everyone was quite worried. (2.) Hot Spot had volunteered to check on her and make sure she was alright. He rapped lightly on her door.

"Argent?" he called out softly. "Are you okay?" No response.

"Argent," Hot Spot called louder, knocking harder. "We're worried." When she didn't answer, it prompted him into a state of panic. Was she okay? Was she hurt either physically or emotionally? Hot Spot decided to investigate. He took out his keycard (3). and swiped it through Argent's scanner, allowing him to enter her room.

When Argent heard the door click, he was working on cutting her second wrist. She had just slit open the skin when the door opened and Hot Spot burst in.

She imagined what she must look like from his point of view. Slightly frenzied, wild crimson eyes, hollowed out cheeks, skin paler than normal, a knife in one hand that was slicing the slicing open the other arm's wrist. Blood dripping down her arm, the crimson standing out vibrantly against her silvery complexion. The smell of blood, salty and metallic, hanging in the air like the cloud of depression hanging over her head.

Hot Spot's mouth fell open and his eyes widened as Argent's dilated and she hastily tried to stow the knife and her bloody wrists behind her back.

"S-s-spotty, w-what are y-you doing h-here?" she stammered nervously.

Hot Spot took a couple of strides over to her, grabbing her wrist in a vice-like grip, a small shudder going through his body as he felt her blood spreading over his fingers. Trembling lightly, he brought her wrist out in front of him; Argent's eyes were closed. Hot Spot studied the cut that marred her wrist intently. It was about a half a centimeter deep, two inched wide, and was spilling out darker than normal crimson blood. Her arm was stained with it, her silvery skin and unusual scarlet. Hot Spot watched in horror as a drop of blood dripped onto the floor, standing out vigorously against the drab carpet. He grabbed her knife by the handle and twisted it out of her grip, then threw it onto her desk, the hilt flashing.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" he whispered, his face paling.

"What are y-you talking about?" Argent weakly asked.

"You cut yourself. On purpose," Hot Spot accused.

"I-I-I don't k-know what you're t-talking about," Argent stuttered. "I was c-cutting up...an apple, but the knife accidentally slipped and i-it-"

"Argent, you know that excuse is pathetic," he snapped. "I'm not an idiot. So, I'm going to ask you again, and this time you're going to answer. Why are you doing this?"

"I-I..." said the silver-skinned Titan. "I-It's like an escape. So I don't have to worry about what we're supposed to do."

"Argent," said Hot Spot softly, taking her light, silvery hand in his sturdy, dark ones. "If you don't want to be a Titan, or a hero, or both, and it's causing you this stress, I'm sure everyone will-"

"Hot Spot, I'm not talking about being a hero," Argent whispered. "I-I'm talking about what happened the day of our sixteenth birthdays."

Hot Spot had a sudden insight. "Argent, we're not sleeper agents any more. We're awake and ready to fight. And I will never let what happened happen again." Argent started to cry, pearly drops leaving shimmering streaks on her pallid cheeks. Hot Spot led her over to her bed and made her sit down, and, sitting down next to her, he hugged her tightly. She buried her face into his chest, gasping with each shuddering so she took. It broke Hot Spot's heart to see her like this. He patted her back, murmuring soothing words to her under his breath, feeling her tears soaking through his shirt.

After a few moments of this, Argent sat up and rubbed her eyes with a sharp intake of breath. She smiled weakly at him. "Thanks, Spotty, you made me feel loads bet-" Her face paled quickly and her eyes dilated as she gasped.

"What's wrong?" Hot Spot demanded, jumping to his feet immediately.

"I'm okay now; I felt really dizzy and wea-" Argent started to say, but her face turned as white as a sheet and her eyes dilated to the point where all Hot Spot could see was her crimson irises. Then her eyes rolled back into her head, closed, and Argent's tiny body slumped over. He stared at her, his mouth open, before leaning over he limp figure. Had...she just fainted? Then he remembered and a string of profanities spewed out of his mouth. He had completely forgotten about the cuts on her wrists. Even now as he looked, more blood spilled out, joining the two huge stains on her bed. Argent bled more easily than most people because of her H'san Natall heritage (4)., and when she bled, it took a lot for her to stop bleeding.

Hot Spot quickly scooped up her small form, wrenching open the door and racing down the hall. Main Ops was near the middle. He pushed open the doors and barreled through, trying not to look at Argent's pale head lolling against his broad shoulder. Kid Flash, Jinx, Jericho, and Herald, the other members of the Titans South, looked up from their positions on the couch to see the pyro's rapidly draining face.

"Wally," Hot Spot said in a choked voice, and the teen speedster was instantly at his side, his startling blue eyes serious for once. Funnily enough, Kid Flash was the best healer in the Titans South.

"What happened?' Jinx demanded, her already wide magenta eyes widening even more.

"Is Argent alright?" Herald asked in a hushed tone, his usually jubilant, ringing voice subdued.

_Did someone attack her?_ Jericho signed.

"Look, guys, we just need to get her to the infirmary and get her looked at. I'll answer all of your questions later," Hot Spot replied, anxiously looking at Argent. Hot Spot gently handed her to Kid Flash, and he carefully readjusted her before forming into a blur and speeding off. Hot Spot shut the Main Ops door on the other three teammates before rushing up a couple of flights of stairs to the infirmary. Kid Flash had already placed her on a cot and was running some tests on a big monitor.

"Well?" asked Hot Spot, the syllable sticking in his throat.

"She fainted from loss of blood, and she doesn't have the usual number of platelets in her bloodstream, so her blood is not congealing like is should be," Kid Flash replied, his brow furrowing slightly. "It looks like her wrists were cut by a knife with a curved blade and it ruptured a huge artery in her left wrist, but only sliced through a few smaller veins and arteries in her right wrist." Kid Flash looked at Hot Spot, his face grim. "Did she...do this?"

"Yes," Hot Spot said softly. "Believe me, she was having problems, but if you knew why she was doing it, you would understand."

"Okay, I promise I won't pry," Kid Flash replied. He looked helplessly at the monitor. "Honestly, I don't know what to do. I've never seen this kind of blood, and I have no idea how to work with it. We could try to staunch the flow..."

"Maybe Raven-?" Hot Spot started to ask hopefully.

"Too far away," Kid Flash muttered.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Hot Spot cried out, fear invading his mind.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out, Hot Spot," Kid Flash said through gritted teeth. "Should we ask the rest of the Titans South?"

"I don't think Argent would want everyone to know about...her problem," Hot Spot replied.

"If she can't trust her teammates, she can't trust anyone at all," Kid Flash reminded him.

"Yeah, I guess," Hot Spot sighed. "Okay, let's bring them in." He walked over to the intercom and pushed down the button. "Guys? Come up to the infirmary." Hot Spot released the button, anxiously biting her fingernails.

"If only Argent was awake. Then we could ask her what she did when she cut herself before to stop herself from bleeding to death," Kid Flash muttered as he wrapped bandages around the cuts on Argent's wrists, which were slick with blood.

The remaining three Titans came into the room. Jericho paled at the sight of the bloody gauze wrapped around Argent's wrists. Herald's mouth was set in a grim line, his knuckles turning white as he gripped Jericho's shoulders.

Hot Spot cleared his throat nervously. "Hey guys. I know that it looks bad, but-"

"She's a cutter," Jinx said flatly, her eyes narrowed as she came up behind Jericho and Herald.

"Excuse me?" Kid Flash said, confusion written all over his face.

"A cutter. A person who purposely cuts themselves, usually with a razor and more often than not on the wrists," Jinx answered bluntly. She turned her gaze towards Hot Spot, who squirmed uncomfortably.

"Well, yeah," he mumbled. Then he cried out, "It wasn't her fault! She was worried and stressed about...stuff," he finished lamely.

"So you know about what's making her do this," Herald said, a hint of accusation lacing his tone.

"No! I mean, yes...but...we don't want to talk about it, okay?" Hot Spot snapped.

_You said 'we',_ Jericho signed. _Does that mean you caused her to do this?_

"I would never do anything to cause her pain," Hot Spot said heatedly.

"But you said 'we'," Kid Flash reminded him.

"Okay. I was involved...to an extent. Let's just leave it at that," Hot Spot replied, carefully choosing his words.

"That's all fine and peachy, but we need to figure out how to stop Argent from doing this," Jinx said calmly.

"We need to help her," Kid Flash argued. "Not forcefully stop her."

"I never said we wouldn't help her, Wally," Jinx retorted in a placating tone. "We need to figure out how to prevent this in the future."

"Speaking of prevention," Herald said nervously, in the middle of changing Argent's blood-soaked bandages. The others stared, shocked, as blood continued to seep out. "These bandages aren't doing anything. She might...die...if we don't figure out how to stop her blood flow soon." Everyone, Hot Spot especially, paled at this statement.

"Kid Flash?" Jinx broke the silence. "Is there something in the cabinets you could use? A cream, ointment, slave, pills?"

"I can look, but I doubt anything would help," Kid Flash replied, rifling through the various cabinets half-heartedly. Hot Spot stared. Kid Flash was never this dejected and hopeless unless he had given up. And Kid Flash never gave up. Ever.

_Did you find anything_? Jericho signed, hope gleaming in his green eyes.

"Nothing that would help, no," Kid Flash replied, shutting a cabinet door and moving onto the last cabinet. "Tylenol...aspirin...ipecac...affrin...no, no, no, and no. There isn't anyth-" Kid Flash stopped abruptly.

"Did you find something?" Herald asked eagerly.

"Not sure," Kid Flash murmured quietly, taking out a small, light grey metal safe. All the members of Titans South, excluding Argent, gathered around to take a look. It was a sturdily made safe, about six by sic inches. Unremarkable, really, except for the fact it was stained with blood. Blood that was darker than human blood.

"Well?" Jinx demanded. "Are we going to open it or not?"

"Can't," answered Kid Flash grimly. "It's made out of titanium alloy. (5). Nothing we do will even make a scratch. To open it, we need to open the lock, and to open the lock, we need three numbers between one and ninety-nine."

"Four, fifteen, ninety-eight." The numbers spilled out of Hot Spot's mouth automatically.

"What?" Jinx asked.

"Four, fifteen, ninety-eight," Hot Spot repeated. He remembers what Argent said after she was badly hurt in a battle.

_If I'm ever hurt, remember the numbers four, fifteen, and ninety-eight._

Kid Flash eyed him suspiciously. "Four, fifteen, ninety-eight?" Hot Spot nodded in confirmation.

"Won't hurt to try it out," Jinx shrugged. Kid Flash twiddled with the lock for a few moments before it opened with a click.

"How in the world did you know that?" Herald asked in amazement as he turned towards Hot Spot, who turned a bright shade of red.

"She told me," he mumbled.

_Come again?_ Jericho signed.

"Argent told me to remember those numbers a long time ago," Hot Spot said, a bit louder.

"No matter," Jinx shrugged again. "It worked. So let's find out what's in that safe."

Kid Flash opened the box and looked inside. He blinked a few times, then his brow furrowed as his lips turned down into a frown.

"Well?" asked Jinx expectantly.

"It's a bunch of syringes, full of bluish liquid (6).," Kid Flash answered, showing the contents of the box to the others.

"Should we try them?" Herald asked nervously.

"Well," Kid Flash said thoughtfully. "Usually I wouldn't advise pumping our teammate full of strange blu liquid, but seeing as Argent told Hot Spot to use these if she ever got hurt and she's been using them before since there are bloodstains...I'd say let's give it a shot."

"Okay," Hot Spot said. "Can I do it?" No one said anything as Kid Flash handed the syringe to Hot Spot. Trembling, Hot Spot walked over to Argent's limp figure. Fingers shaking slightly, he stuck the needle in Argent's forearm and pressed down, releasing the liquid. Argent gave a small whimper as it entered her bloodstream, then was silent. Everyone waited for a few moments, until Herald spoke, excitement filling his voice.

"It's working! Look, the cuts on her wrists aren't leaking blood anymore, and the blood is congealing slightly."

_That sounded disgusting the way you said that_, Jericho signed with a grimace while Herald rolled his eyes. Cautiously, Kid Flash probed Argent's bloody, wrists, his fingertips gingerly moving across the cuts.

"All of the bleeding has stopped, and the cuts are beginning to scab over. She'll have scars, but that liquid must've helped clot the blood. She's very lucky to be alive," he reported. Hot Spot shuddered when he heard the words, 'She's lucky to be alive.'

_Once she wakes up she's going to need some serious help, _Jericho signed.

"Maybe we should ask Raven," Jinx suggested.

"Why Raven?" Herald asked.

"Because when Robin was hallucinating about Slade, Raven was able to go into his mind to help him," Jinx answered.

"I heard something about that," Hot Spot spoke up. "But didn't it turn out that Robin's hallucinations were caused by some sort of dust?"

"That's not the point," Jinx replied impatiently.

"Then get to yours!" Hot Spot growled, his body starting to glow, like an ember coming back to life. A wave of heat rolled across the room.

"Don't get heated up." Jinx rolled her eyes. "My point is that Raven can get into people's heads. Inside their minds. She can figure out what's bothering Argent and help her overcome it."

Hot Spot shook his head. "I can help her overcome it just fine, because I've been in her situation."

"You cut yourself?" Herald asked.

"No. I mean I know what's bothering her because I was with her when it happened." Hot Spot retorted.

"If she's cutting herself because of what happened, then maybe you need help, too," Kid Flash said as Hot Spot mentally cursed.

"I got over it. Argent hasn't," Hot Spot replied.

_How do you know?_ Jericho signed, his lime green eyes strangely intense.

"I don't cut myself, if you haven't noticed," Hot Spot snapped, and the heat intensified.

"Chill out," Jinx growled. "You're heat is frizzing up my hair."

"I can't even tell the difference," Hot Spot snarled, causing Jinx's eyes to glow and eerie magenta.

"Jinx," Kid Flash said nervously. "Calm down."

"Listen, you stupid pyro," Jinx hissed, not listening to Kid Flash at all. "I don't care-" Her words were cut off by a small moan. Jinx looked down in surprise at Argent's stirring body, and quickly her eyes stopped glowing. Hot Spot's heat slowly dwindled in power until it shut off completely. Argent's eyelids fluttered and her lips parted slightly. She slowly opened her eyes and the ruby irises flickered.

"Wha...what happened?" Argent's voice was faint, barely audible, and there was a tremor that arose in her words.

Hot Spot leaned over her and brushed a strand of hair off of her face. "Do you not remember?" he murmured gently. Argent shook her head; the movement seemed to cause her great pain. "We were talking and then you fainted-"

"-from blood loss," Kid Flash finished, his usually lighthearted blue eyes hard and serious. Argent's pale, silvery face was made even more so by the red-headed speedster's presence. Her scarlet eyes widened as they roamed across the grim faces of Jinx, Herald, and Jericho.

"You told them." Her voice was flat, with no emotions showing.

"I had to tell Kid Flash, and then...the rest...figured it out," Hot Spot finished lamely.

"They would have found out sooner or later." A pause. "So. Are you going to haul me off to some mental institute now?"

"No," Jinx replied, her voice level. "We thought maybe Raven could-" at the mere mention of Raven's name, Argent's eyes flared with a fiery fierceness, her face hardened, and her hands balled into fists. (7).

"Absolutely not," Argent snapped. "I don't want anyone poking 'round in my head."

"But she could really help-" Herald fell silent when Argent shot him a hate-filled glare.

"I said no, and I mean no!" Argent exclaimed.

"Argent, you need to consider the option that it's probably a good thing if Raven helps you get over what we went through," Hot Spot said quietly, laying a hand on Argent's shoulder. She tensed up and faced Host Spot. It was a fierce battle between a cold crimson and a warm, deep brown, but eventually Argent broke her gaze.

"No. I'm not going, and that's final. I don't care what you say, or what you do. I am not having Raven go snooping in my memories. My _private_ memories," Argent said firmly, turning away from him.

**~TT~**

"...and she's been...cutting herself because of it...so we were hoping that Raven could help," Hot Spot finished. Titans South had just completed the ten hour (8.) journey by their T-Ship from New Zealand to Jump City.

"Where is she?" asked Robin, his mask narrowed slightly.

Jinx pointed at one of the pods on their T-Ship. "She's sleeping."

"She's _sleeping_?" Cyborg asked incredulously.

"We had to drug her so we could get her over here without a struggle," Kid Flash mumbled.

"You _drugged_ her?" Robin yelled, his face turning as red as a sunset in the desert sky.

"Did you _want_ us to get mauled?" Herald asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dudes, are you sure you're not overexaggerating?" Beastboy smirked.

"We're just telling it how it is, greenbean," Kid Flash replied with a cocky wink. "Besides, I'm actually impressed you even knew what 'overexaggerating' meant." Beastboy scowled.

"Fine." Robin sighed. "I'll call the girls. They're in Starfire's room, painting their nails."

Jinx snorted while Kid Flash doubled over with laughter and Herald chuckled. Jericho, giggling slightly, signed, _Raven? Painting nails?_ Robin shrugged.

"The girls made a pact to do at least an hour of bonding time every day. (9.) Today was Starfire's turn to pick, so they're painting nails," Cyborg explained.

Robin pressed down the button on the intercom and called, "Raven? Starfire? We need you down here."

"We'll be right down," Raven's monotonous voice rang out across the room. Almost as quickly as the echo of her voice started, she phased into the room with Starfire. To everyone's amusement, Starfire's nails were painted a bright pink, a shocking contrast to Raven, whose nails were painted a dark purple that was bordering black.

"What do you need?" Raven asked, her face grim.

"We need you to help Argent," Hot Spot replied, just as grim, if not more.

"What's wrong?" Raven inquired, without preamble.

"Argent...well, she's been...cutting herself..." Hot Spot shifted from foot to foot, looking down at the floor uneasily.

"I see." Raven's voice was flat. "And _why_, pray tell, is she doing this?"

Hot Spot ground his teeth together. "It's about something that happened to us a long time ago."

"'Us' meaning the team, or-"

"'Us' meaning Argent and I," Hot Spot said.

"Then do you not require help also?" Starfire asked.

Hot Spot sighed. "I'm completely and most definitely over it."

"I'll take your word for it," Raven shrugged. "Now, Robin, I'll need to take Argent to the quarantine room. Completely white. No noise. No smells. Nothing to stimulate any of the senses." Everyone nodded in understanding. "Where is she?"

"She's in the ship. D'you want me to get her?" Hot Spot asked.

"Yes. I'll have to teleport us all in, then phase you out," Raven answered. Hot Spot trudged over to the ship and retrieved Argent's slumbering body. She looked so innocent asleep. So young, and so pure. Hot Spot supposed everyone did. He picked her up and stepped near Raven, aware of everyone's eyes on him.

"Are you ready?" Raven asked him, but her could tell it was the type of question that wasn't meant to be answered. Raven raised her arms, her eyes glowing white, and the trio were enveloped by darkness.

**~TT~**

Argent groggily opened her eyes. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess and her mind was in a fuzzy haze. Where was she? Carefully, she sat up, taking in her surroundings. Except, there weren't really any surroundings to take in. She was in a room, about eight feet by ten feet, that was completely white, with no windows, no vents, no nothing.

"The reason why this room is so plain is so that your mind can focus more on memories and less on your senses," a voice said, but it didn't sound regular. As soon as the message reached Argent's ears, the vibrations stopped, and it didn't echo or vibrate, which was strange.

"Who are you and where are you? What the bloody hell is going on?" Argent demanded furiously.

"Raven, in the quarantine section of Titans Central Tower, and I'm going to help you," the voice said, this time from behind Argent. The silver-skinned teen whirled around and saw the hooded empath.

"I don't want anyone, _anyone_, to get in my head," she snapped, before looking down at her hands in surprise. Argent had meant to have thrown out a giant hand to trap Raven.

"Your powers won't work here," Raven said, a bit bored watching Argent struggle. "But mine do."

"Fabulous," Argent snarled. "Now let me go."

"No," replied Raven evenly. "You're not leaving until we've figured out what's making you cut yourself."

"Isn't that called 'kidnapping'?" Argent asked smugly.

"It would be, except that you have a serious psychological condition, and we are merely trying to help, so it is not considered kidnapping, and is, in fact, completely legal," Raven answered smoothly. Argent's smug smirk changed into an ugly grimace.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions," Raven continued. "When did you first start cutting yourself?"

"I'm not going to answer any of your stupid questions," Argent growled, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Please. your teammates are worried," Raven said. She tried to conceal triumphant smile that begged to come onto her face when she saw that Argent blanched. Argent's teammates were her family, and she cared about them deeply. Their friendship meant the world to her. There was a very long silence as Argent thought. Raven began to to meditate. Argent would tell her when she was ready.

"Three months."

"What?" asked Raven, startled.

"Three months," Argent repeated. "That's when I first started to cut myself. Three months ago."

"Around the time of your birthday?"

A short pause. "Yes."

"You and Hot Spot have the same birthday," Raven remarked. (10.)

"So?' Argent shot back, but Raven saw the fear in her scarlet eyes, and could tell she'd found something.

"It's interesting," Raven said, picking her words carefully.

"Lots of people have the same birthdays," Argent replied defensively.

"True," Raven agreed, and didn't press the matter anymore. "Why do you cut yourself?"

"Excuse me?"

"Some people cut themselves because they like the pain. Others cut to deal with hurt or pain. Why do you do it?"

Argent searched for the right words. "It helps me forget about what happened, and instead I focus on the pain."

"What happened?" Raven asked, knowing full well that Argent wouldn't tell her.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Argent answered, her eyes no longer lackluster.

"Then I guess I'll have to find out," Raven replied. She situated herself in her meditating position and began to chant. "Azarath...Metrion...Zinthos...Azarath...Metrion...Zinthos..." Raven's soul-self, her signature raven, erupted from her body and flew straight into an unsuspecting Argent.

**~TT~**

Raven watched as Argent's memories flashed by her like a slideshow. She was surprised at what had happened in Argent's life. Although she saw Argent in the memories, she also saw a girl that she faintly recognized. The girl had wavy ebony hair, startlingly blue eyes, a slightly olive complexion that was tanned, high cheekbones, and dramatically arched eyebrows. (11.) Raven wondered who she was while watching more memories shoot by.

**~TT~**

Eventually, Raven released her hold on Argent, leaving the silver-skinned heroine with a nasty headache and a foul mood. Although Raven tried to talk with Argent about what she had just witnessed, Argent right out refused to even acknowledge the emapth's presence, causing Raven to lose her temper for a moment, which almost never happened.

"She won't talk to me," Raven announced to the members of Titans Central and Titans South. "So just bring her over once a week so we can work on her problem until it's resolved. Try not to upset her."

**~TT~**

Needless to say, Hot Spot was worried about Argent. The minute she got into the ship, she had cut off all communications and put up the tinted windows. Raven had warned Titans South about this, of course. But Hot Spot still felt helpless, concerned, and upset.

As soon as the T-Ship had landed, Argent had rushed to her room and locked the door, oblivious to the insistent knocks. She hadn't come out, not to eat, not to use the bathroom. And when Hot Spot had left food outside her door, he checked later and it wasn't touched.

It was about seven at night, and Hot Spot had already paced about a thousand times.

"It takes time," Jinx said. She'll talk to us and come out when she's ready."

"What if she's never ready?" Hot Spot retorted. Jinx fell silent. Hot Spot kept pacing.

Finally, he announced, "I'm going up to check on her."

"I don't thinks she's going to let you in, but it's worth a try," Herald said. Hot Spot shrugged and headed out of Main Ops.

When he reached Argent's room, he was unsure of what to do. He decided that knocking was his best option, so he rapped on the door three times and waited.

Hot Spot was surprised when he heard her voice say, "Come in."

Hot Spot blinked when he stepped inside her was a mess, and Argent was never messy. She always cleaned and picked up and wasn't a slob, but right now her room looked like a tornado had swept through. Papers were strewn everywhere, pencils, both colored and regular, were scattered haphazardly all around, and there were piles of paintbrushes, pastels, watercolours, and palettes in ever corner. Hot Spot had no idea she had had all of this stuff. (12).

Argent was sitting on her bed, furiously drawing in a sketchbook with a few coloured pencils. Hot Spot cleared his throat awkwardly and sat down next to her, watching every move she made carefully. When she looked up at him and gave him a tiny smile, he relaxed a bit.

"Hey Spotty." Her voice was soft, with no anger or hurt in it, which surprised Hot Spot.

"Hi," he smiled back at her.

"Sorry 'bout being so isolated," she apologised. Hot Spot nodded his head uncomfortably.

Desperate to change the subject, he asked quickly, "Oh, what are you sketching/" Ignoring her cries of complaint, he plucked the sketchbook out of her grip and brought it to his eyes. His breath caught in his throat and his deep brown eyes widened. The drawing...it was so lifelike. It seemed like a photograph, no, it seemed like it would start moving and breathing at any second. Hot Spot had no idea she was such a talented artist. What was strange was that the drawing was so...familiar. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

It was a bust of a girl. Her black hair was swept over on shoulder in a regal wave, and her delicate olive-toned skin radiated beauty. Her sapphire blue eyes were whimsical and sparkled with a kind of charismatic happiness and long, girlish, feathery eyelashes surrounded them, framing the beautifully. But he recognized her. The curve of her cheek, the angle of her jawline, the gleam in her eyes, the quirky half-grin that played on her plump, full lips...it was all so familiar. He'd definitely seen her before, somewhere. He just couldn't remember where or when.

"Who is this, Argent?" Hot Spot asked. "I think I know her." Argent looked at him sadly, a small grin plastered on her dark lips. It wasn't even a grin, really, more of a half-smile...and suddenly he realized who the girl was in the picture, even without Argent's answer that came a few seconds later.

"It's me. I'm the girl in the drawing."

**~TT~**

"I just can't believe Argent used to look like this," Kid Flash breathed, his azure eyes widening in awe as he gawked at the detailed drawing on the table.

"She had...blue eyes," Jinx said.

_And...y'know...normal skin_, Jericho signed.

"Is it really that hard to believe?" Hot Spot wondered aloud, more to himself than the others.

"I guess...not really..." Herald replied. "Wouldn't it be terrible to just...wake up one day and to have completely changed?"

"She didn't just wake up one day and it _happened_," Hot Spot snapped, his temper starting to flare up.

_Well, what happened?_ Jericho asked, his green eyes wide and innocent.

Hot Spot opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. What was he going to do now?

Then the huge monitor in front of them flared to life and Titans South turned their attention to it. Hot Spot let out a sigh of relief. Robin and Raven appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Titans South," Robin said, as calm as ever. When he saw them grouped around the table his mask narrowed slightly. "What are you looking at?"

"We're looking at a sketch Argent drew," Jinx answered. "She's an amazing artist. Do you want to take a look?"

"I don't think that's a good id-" Hot Spot started.

"Yes, actually. It might help with our training session in three days," Raven interrupted, giving Hot Spot a thoughtful gaze. Jinx held up the drawing and Raven and Robin leaned in. Raven gasped, her indigo eyes widening slightly. "That's the girl I kept seeing in Argent's memories."

Kid Flash snorted. "For a good reason."

"What are you talking about?" Robin asked.

"This is a drawing of Argent before she...y'know...changed," Herald explained.

"No way," Robin replied, looking carefully at the sketch. "A-are you...sure?"

Kid Flash snorted again. "She told us."

"She told you." Raven's voice was flat and incredulous.

"Well...not exactly, no," Jinx admitted. "Rather, she told Hot Spot, and he got permission from her to show us the drawing and tell us who it was."

"I see. How...interesting," Robin said, his facial expressions betraying his boredom.

"Yes. Very interesting. Well, we just called you to remind you to bring Argent over three days from now," Raven said. "Oh, and Hot Spot?"

"Yes?" Hot Spot answered, a wave of dread washing over his body.

"I want you to sit in with Argent."

"What? No!"

"Let me rephrase that: you are going to sit in with Argent."

"But-"

"No buts. I saw you in some of her...worse...memories. So you are sitting in."

"Raven-"

"See you in three days, Titans South." And with that, the screen went black.

Jericho turned towards Hot Spot. _Worse memories?_

"Not in that sense," Hot Spot growled. "I never did anything to her. I was there when-" he shuddered violently. "Let's just say our pasts are more intertwined than you think."

"Are you ever just going to stop showering us with this crap and tell us about the stuff you and Argent are skirting around?" Jinx demanded vehemently.

"I'll tell you guys when both of us are ready," Hot Spot retorted.

**~TT~**

Hot Spot and Argent sat next to each other. Both had their arms crossed, a look of fierce determination in their eyes, and a slight flush on their cheeks.

"I want you to tell me what happened on the day of your sixteenth (13). birthdays," Raven said, quickly and effectively breaking the silence.

"No," both the pyro and the energy-projector snapped stubbornly. Their gazes flitted over one another quickly before returning to the floor.

"We don't have to _tell_ you anything," Argent replied loftily. "We can show you."

"Really?" Raven raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Really," Argent rolled her eyes. She took a portfolio out of her black leather messenger bag and held it up. "These are sketches of what happened. They'll show you everything you need to know." She slid it across the floor to Raven, but, unfortunately, it burst open halfway through, and drawings spilled out like water spilling out of a broken dam. (14). One drifted over to Hot Spot, and, curious, he picked it up.

Tears blurred his eyes, his breath hitching as his hands trembled, making the paper shake. It was a sketch of him, Argent, Risk, Fringe, and Prysm, (15). all floating in tubes of liquid, all lifeless and limp.

"Hot Spot?" A tentative hand touched his shoulder. "Are you...okay?" Hot Spot wanted to nod, to say yes, he was fine, but he couldn't. His body was frozen. The detailed sketch had unlocked all of those memories he'd kept locked up, hidden away, came flooding back into his head, images flashing across his mind. He shuddered violently.

"Hot Spo-"

"Toni," he said urgently, looking her in the eyes. "We must tell Raven. We'll feel...better if we tell her."

"Isiah...are you sure?" Argent's crimson eyes were anxious as she swallowed, her Adam's apple bobbing up and down on her pale throat.

Hot Spot nodded. "I'm ready, and I know you are, too."

Argent took a shaky breath. "I guess it's time the truth came out." Hot Spot squeezed her hand in reassurance and she smiled fleetingly.

"Okay," she whispered. "I'm ready."

"Start whenever you feel comfortable, Argent," Raven said.

"On the day of my sixteenth birthday," began Argent, "I woke up, and it was almost as if I could _feel_ something was coming. I waved the feeling away. Life was perfect. I was Senator Monetti's daughter, made of money, had everything a girl could ever want."

"Later that day, I had a pool party. All of my so-called friends were there." A trace of bitterness laced Argent's voice. "Everyone was wearing skimpy bikinis and gossiping, urgh. I shudder when I think of how shallow I was back then. Well, my mates and I swam for a bit, and then my dad announced it was time to cut th' cake. It was a humongous thing, really, with eight layers, extravagant icing, and frosting roses. I was about to blow out th' candle when...when..."

"When," Raven prompted.

Argent intook a sharp breath. "When everything went black. At precisely 3:29 p.m. (16.) everything went black, and my life changed forever." She sighed, her ruby-coloured eyes hard.

Hot Spot decided to take over. "I was with my dad. We were playing a baseball game with my friends and their dads. We were having a really great time. My team was up three runs, and I had just hit a home run. I was about to run across home plate when...everything went black. It was 3:29 p.m."

"When I awoke...I was in...this tube...full of this liquid. It was...kind of green tinged...and I was stuck full of needles, smaller tubes, an other delightful things like that." Argent shivered and closed her eyes. "I could see four people in the same situation...Hot Spot...a burly blond bloke...a person who looked like a cross between beast and man...and a girl who was...purple. She looked like she was made out of lavender glass. They were all asleep."

"But then I saw myself...in the reflection of th' glass...and I freaked out. I had good reason to. My eyes had turned...red. And my skin had turned silver." She sighed sharply. "Anyway, like I said, I freaked out and screamed and whatnot, successfully dislodging most of that awful machinery. And of course, waking up all of the other people and sending _them_ into a panic/"

Hot Spot smiled a wan grin. "I kicked so hard I cracked the glass and it broke. The others were trying...but...then our captors came in. They looked a lot like Prysm, the girl who looked like she was mad out of purple glass. They subdued me again and shut me back in a different tube and reattached the needles and tubes, which was beyond painful. Like fire licking my body. but then I realized that it wasn't the needles that were causing the pain. It was me. I was actually on fire."

"One by one, they forced all of us to use our powers. We found out Hot Spot was a blasted pyrokinetic, Risk had six times the normal human's abilities, Fringe was part animal or whatever, and Prysm was able to absorb and generate blasts of energy. I was able to construct things out of plasma and I also had the ability of flight," Argent continued.

"I don't understand," Raven said. "Did these people give you those powers? And what did they want with you?"

Argent and Hot Spot exchanged looks. Then Hot Spot spoke. "Seventeen years ago, a murderous race of aliens called the H'san Natall-" Raven gave a little gasp (17.)- "captured nine earth women. They took them aboard their mother ship and...erm...uhh..."

"I get it," Raven said tersely.

"Right," Hot Spot looked uncomfortable. "So, once the women were...you know...the H'san Natall sent them back down to Earth."

"All except one," interjected. "Queen Miraset stayed and was married to the leader of the H'san Natall, King Ch`ah."

"All of the H'san Natall hybrids were born about nine months later. All the women told their husbands that the child was theirs, not wanting to ruin their relationships. Prysm, or as she was called back then, Audrey, stayed on a computer generated world, similar to Earth in the 1950's. King Ch`ah and Queen Miraset wanted to make sure their daughter, the princess, was kept safe," Hot Spot continued.

"Unfortunately, some of the husbands found out, but they didn't get rid of th' children. Just th' wives," Argent said sourly. "Then, on their sixteenth birthdays, at exactly 3:29 p.m., all the H'san Natall hybrids were teleported up to the mother ship. We found out that our powers were triggered by a genetic coding that caused the powers to manifest themselves on our sixteenth birthdays."

"We were supposed to stay asleep so they could program us to do something." Hot Spot picked up where Argent had left off. "But we didn't stay asleep, so we were no longer sleeper agents. Their plan was ruined."

"They didn't bloody seem to think so, though," Argent corrected.

"What were you supposed to do?" Raven asked.

Argent exhaled sharply. "Well, we were supposed to live on Earth among full humans, since we looked normal...well, mostly normal..." she looked at her silvery hand. "...and then destroy the Earth from the inside out."

A ghost of a smile laced Raven's lips. "Well, I know how that feels."

"Guess you do," Hot Spot said flatly. "Anyway, the H'san Natall revealed their plan to us and asked us to go through with it and join them. We all refused, and Argent...well, she sort of lost it and started to scream and beat up the guards." He glanced at her; her hands were balled into fists. "Reinforcements came...and they strapped her down...and...and..."

"And they slit open my collarbone and left his," Argent hissed, gesturing to the symbol on her collarbone. (18). "It's a scar."

Raven blanched slightly. "I-I thought it was a tattoo."

Argent laughed bitterly. "Most people do. I guess it is a tattoo of sorts. A tatoo of pain. I can still remember the feel of th' knife slicing through my flesh, th' blood spurting out and running down my body..." she fixed her steely gaze on Raven. "It's a word in th' H'san Natall laguage."

"And it means?" Raven asked half-heartedly, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"It means traitor," Argent answered shortly, her fingers tracing the scar.

"After what happened...well, I guess you could say all hell broke loose," Hot Spot said humorlessly. "We used our new powers and broke free. Loren Jupiter rescued us and helped us, along with the Atom. (19.)"

"We don't really want to go into the rest," Argent exchanged looks with Hot Spot.

"That's fine," Raven assured her. "But I do have a question."

"Which is...?" Argent prodded.

"You said there were originally nine H'san Natall hybrids. But you only mentioned five: you two, Risk, Fringe, and Prysm. What about the other four? (20.)" asked Raven.

"Well, one was named Scorcher, and she was like a female version of me. But, the H'san Natall got to her, and she became part of an elite assassin group before she died. The others, however, are unaccounted for," Hot Spot replied. "We suspect that some didn't survive through childhood. Or maybe the H'san Natall lost track of them. Perhaps they never developed powers. It's also quite possible that they're a current hero or villain and they just don't know they are a H'san Natall 's also a slight chance that they have superpowers, but the choose not or don't know how to use them. Or, it could be that-"

"Yes, yes, Spotty, I think she gets th' point," Argent said, stifling a barrage of giggles and laying a hand on Hot Spot's shoulder. "Let's not bombard th' poor girl with our various theories." She turned to Raven. "Anyway, we do have a way of finding the rest of the hybrids, but so far it hasn't worked yet."

"Oh? What is it?" Raven asked, her interest clearly piqued.

Argent blushed slightly. "Well...all of the hybrids have a weak psychic link with one another...(21.)"

"_What_?" Raven exclaimed.

Hot Spot nodded. "It's true. Although, Argent and I haven't used it a lot. At least, not consciously."

"What do you mean by that?" Raven inquired.

"Have you ever had a dream...and then it switches tracks completely? Like a second dream that interrupts th' first one? That happens to us hybrids occasionally. Sometimes we're allowed to see flashes of another hybrid's dreams," Argent explained. "That's th' part of our link which works without us knowing, whereas if we wanted to use telepathy, we would have t' concentrate quite hard."

"I see," Raven said flatly. "And you never deemed it fit to tell Robin or anyone about this?"

"Well, it really isn't th' type of thing you discuss," Argent answered thoughtfully.

"Can you imagine?" Hot Spot snorted. "Oh, by the way, I'm telepathic with a couple of other H'san Natall hybrids and can sometimes see their dreams please pass the salt." He and Argent burst into raucous laughter. Well, Hot Spot did. Argent burst into tinkling, delicate giggles. Even Raven let out a snort of laughter. Eventually, the trio calmed down until they were quiet, but laughter continued. They realized that the laughter was coming from outside the room.

"They did _not_," Argent snarled, her eyes suddenly murderous.

"They did," snapped Raven, who marched over to the door and wrenched it open, revealing the other members of the Titans Central and the Titans South.

"Ummm...hi?" Kid Flash said weakly.

"How much did you hear?" Raven demanded furiously.

"A-all of it?" Jinx stammered.

"BEASTBOY!" Raven and Argent yelled in unison, their faces screwed up in anger.

"I didn't do it!" he said, clearly panicked. And for a very good reason. A steaming Raven is bad. But if you add a ticked off Argent...well, you should probably run for your life. "Okay, umm...maybe...I, uh, did do it?"

"And _what_ the bloody _hell_ is _it_?" said Argent through gritted teeth.

"Uhumm..." Beastboy hemmed and hawed for a moment until he saw Argent was just about ready to slap him. "Okay, okay! I may have...kind of...bugged the room?"

"You did WHAT?" Argent and Raven screamed.

"Run," Hot Spot advised. Beastboy took his advice to heart and morphed into a horse, galloping as fast as he could away from the furious empath and the majorly pissed energy constructor. Raven let out a scream of frustration and tore after him.

"We must go make sure that our friends are the 'okay,'" Starfire insisted.

"Aww...I wanted to see Raven kick BB's butt," Cyborg grumbled, reluctantly heading after Robin and Starfire.

"Righto," Argent said crisply. "Let's blow this popsicle stand before it's torn to shreds." Everyone gaped at her.

"Y-you're not mad?" Herald asked in astonishment.

"Where would you get _that_ ridiculous notion?" Argent snapped. He shrank back in fear. Argent sighed. "No, I'm not mad. I understand that not knowing was driving you up the wall; believe me, I know what that feels like. And I feel a tad guilty for not telling you lot sooner. So, no, I am not mad."

As Titans South headed back to the ship, Argent murmured under her breath, "I guess you were right after all."

"What are you talking about?" asked Hot Spot, clearly bewildered.

"I was ready. Ready for the truth to come out."

**Heh. Hate to end it on that cliche...:). Oh, well. This is going to be an AMAZINGLY long author's note. So, basically, the story is about Argent's past, and I stuck loosely to what happened in the comics, but it's a little different. The first part is true, about how they were teleported up, but Fringe was not with Argent, Prysm, Hot Spot, and Risk. I actually have no idea how Fringe joined Atom's Titans, but he's definitely a hybrid. Also, the Atom got caught in one of the transporter beams and got teleported, too. Argent, Hot Spot, and Risk were 'sent,' (meaning they were hypnotized or put in a simulator or something) into Prysm's computer world. The Atom woke up Argent, who used her new powers to set the others free. They were all shocked at their new powers and they felt stronger from being in Prysm's world. Anyway, the plot about the impregnated human women, the plan to destroy the Earth from the inside out, and the Atom's Titans with Loren Jupiter funding is true, also. The tube things, guards, and maiming Argent was my creation for this plot. **

**(1.) No, the H'san Natall heritage does not actually affect the color of Argent's blood. At least, I don't think it does...**

**(2.) These are all of my fanfiction branches of the Teen Titans: Argent's teammates are Jinx, Kid Flash, Hot Spot, Jericho, and Herald. They are the Titans South, and Argent is the leader. The Titans North is made up of Red Star, Kole, Gnarrk, Lightning, and Thunder. Red Star is the leader. The Titans West are compromised of Pantha, Wildebeest, Bushido, and Killowat (sometimes Wondergirl stops by). The leader is Bushido. Titans East is the same, and then the original five Titans are called Titans Central.**

**(3.) I just felt like giving Titans South keycards to get into all of the rooms in the tower. Deal with it.**

**(4.) Same as number one. I don't actually think that H'san Natall heritage affects the amount of platelets in her blood. It's just part of my plot.**

**(5.) Pfft. I don't actually know what titanium alloy is...or if it's even indestructible at all...**

**(6.) This was supposed to be some kind of mystic medicine. Maybe the H'san Natall gave it to her, I don't know. I didn't really think about what the medicine is...**

**(7.) Argent doesn't have anything against Raven, she just doesn't want anyone to see her memories. Oh, at the end when Raven keeps asking about what happened. But she already went into Argent's mind. So why does she ask about it? Easy. She only saw brief flashes of what happened, so she needs it in detail.**

**(8.) I think it's around ten hours by jet...please correct me if I'm wrong, and I apologize if I am. It was just rough guessing.**

**(9.) I absolutely love when Raven and Starfire bond together, so I thought, why not have them make a pact to do things together all the time?**

**(10.) I'm pretty sure that the H'san Natall hybrids all have the same birthday...because their powers all came into being on the same day...**

**(11.) This is just how I imagined Argent before she changed. I don't know if that's what she actually looked like, but I think that I did a pretty good job.**

**(12.) Yes, I know, I know, Jinx is supposed to be the artist. But, I needed Argent to be the artist for this story so that the plot would work. Please don't kill me for it!**

**(13.) I am almost positive it's their sixteenth birthdays, but it could possibly be fifteenth...**

**(14.) AHA! CALLING ALL TITANS REFERENCE!**

**(15.) So, like explained before, Argent (Toni Monetti), Hot Spot (he was called Joto back then; his real name is Isiah Crockett), Risk (Cody Driscoll), Fringe (real name unknown), Prysm (Audrey Spears), and the Atom (Raymond Palmer; his powers were to shrink to the size of an atom) made up a new branch of Titans, the New Earth Titans, and they were funded by Loren Jupiter.**

**(16.) Yeah, no, I have no idea why I chose 3:29 as the time...**

**(17.) Yeah, everyone's heard of the H'san Natall. They're the most murderous alien race around, and that includes the Gordanians. So everyone, including Raven, know about them.**

**(18.) Actually, I have no idea what the symbol on her neck is. I think it's a tattoo of an 'A,' but I said it was a scar so it would fit in with my plot.**

**(19.) I talked about him in 15 and in the beginning.**

**(20.) The remaining three H'san Natall hybrids are a mystery to everyone, although some of the theories that I wrote have been thought of. Scorcher was a real character, not and OC, and she did die. She was part of an assassin group called the Dark Nemesis, who were used to track Argent, Fringe, Hot Spot, and Risk down. And yeah, they replaced her with a Scorcher II. How thoughtful.**

**(21.) Yes, they have a psychic link with one another. That is pure, undiluted fact. But the part about seeing the other hybrids' dreams is my idea.**

**Yeah, I warned you about this being an EXTREMELY long author's note. Shoot. I just realized my plot has two big holes: A. Robin would probably kick Argent off of the Teen Titans until she resolved her 'issue,' and B. Robin probably should have known about Argent and Hot Spot's past, since he keeps info on all of the Titans. Oh, well. Ignore it and pretend that Hot Spot and Argent's files had nothing about their past. Onto other matters, dark, angsty fictions are REALLY fun to write! **

**Review, please! I spent a long time on working on this story and had to try out, like, twenty sites to find all of this info! So, reviews would be nice!**

**~lilmissf**


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